HOUSTON (AP) James Harden had 34 points and his supporting cast helped the Houston Rockets overcome a 47-point game by Russell Westbrook to get a 105-99 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. More
A Louisville sophomore won’t be awarded the $38,000 in prize money he won for a halftime contest in which he made a layup, free throw, three-pointer, and half-court shot. More
OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee fired back at Shaquille O’Neal via Twitter after the former star-turned TNT analyst posted on his verified account a disparaging photo of McGee with the words, “America meet Javale “BUM” McGee.” More
The LA Clippers weren’t able to edge closer to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference last night. They lost 133-120 at the Staples Center.
The LA Clippers weren’t able to overcome an 11 point deficit in the first quarter but kept it close, only losing by 13 points to the Golden State Warriors, while still missing Chris Paul. The Clippers weren’t able to rely on their established scorers and had to be bailed out by Blake Griffin and the numerous Clippers role players.
Blake Griffin ended the game with 31 points and eight rebounds in just over 30 minutes. Another good sign was the play of Austin Rivers. Rivers put up 18 points off 15 shots and has shown his ability to shoulder the scoring load without Chris Paul in the lineup.
A major deficit to the Clippers though was their defense. Letting the Warriors put up 133 points. The ‘big three’ of the Warriors put up 60 shots altogether. If the Clippers want to be in the conversation with contenders like the Warriors, they will have to improve their defense, even without Paul being in the rotation at the moment.
However, here are the five things we learned from the Clippers vs Warriors game.
A positive from the game was the Clippers ability to get to the free-throw line and convert at a decent rate. With a grand total of 39 free-throw attempts to the Warriors’ 18, the Clippers were able to draw fouls at an insane rate and kept themselves out of foul trouble at the same time.
With the Clippers not having the same amount of offensive firepower as other contenders, such as the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Clippers have to win in different ways. Their ability to get to the line so frequently, this could be a good plan of action against big teams come playoff time.
Griffin, in particular, got to the line at a rapid rate, attempting 13 free-throws, and making 11 of them. If Griffin can keep up this free-throw volume at a consistent rate, the increase from his average of seven attempts a game to a higher amount could make him into one of the most valuable bigs in the NBA.
If the rest of the team could increase their output at the line, they would be able to make themselves legitimate contenders to take the Western crown.
The Clippers were missing a few things last night to be able to challenge the Warriors on all fronts. The big missing needs were play-making, shot-creating and defense. Maybe if the Clippers had a player like that? Oh yeah. That Chris Paul guy.
Chris Paul was sorely missed last night on both sides of the ball. With the Warriors back-court starters scoring a combined 50 points, and the Clippers creating 14 less assists than their opponents, Paul’s two-way production is…
Three quick observations from Friday’s 115-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets at The Palace
SLAM DUNK – It was the Boban Game … until it became the craziest darned game of the NBA season. The Pistons led by 19 with 10 minutes to go but needed two Reggie Jackson free throws with 1.9 seconds left to take a lead and then survive Marco Belinelli’s banked 3-pointer at the buzzer ruled a shade too late. More
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Carmelo Anthony scored 33 points, including two free throws with 14.8 seconds remaining, and the New York Knicks held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 103-100 Friday night. More
SACRAMENTO , Calif. — Carmelo Anthony went from a star on Instagram to a star in Sacramento. But he needed a late hand from Joakim Noah and his suddenly soft free-throw stroke.
Anthony made two controversial Instagram posts aimed at Knicks president Phil Jackson, then posted 23 of his 33 points in the first half as the Knicks began their five-game road trip with a 103-100 win over the Kings at their new downtown arena, Golden 1 Center. Anthony also became the fourth active player to score more than 23,000 points.
Anthony went cold late, missing all five of his fourth-quarter shots, and also missed two free throws with 3.6 seconds left and the Knicks up by three. After the second miss, DeMarcus Cousins’ midcourt heave hit the rim and bounced away at the buzzer.
Two days after his eight-point dud against the Cavaliers, Anthony was terrific for three quarters, keeping them in the game, after stepping up his feud with Jackson, who had nitpicked in an interview he hung onto the ball too long.
“It was sloppy but that’s how we’ve been winning,’’ Noah said. “It was a scrappy game.’’
The Knicks (13-10) needed the embattled Noah, hitting barely 25 percent from the line, to hit two free throws with 2:06 left to put the Knicks into the lead for good at 99-98 as the Kings played Hack-a-Noah like they did last Sunday when he missed all four free throws.
“It felt good — I’m not going to lie,’’ said Noah, who played strong late defense on Cousins. “I needed that. It’s tough, man….
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb scored 21 points apiece, and the Charlotte Hornets built an early lead on the way to a 104-85 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
Walker and Lamb were a combined 14 of 25 from the field, including 7 for 13 on 3-point attempts. The rest of the Hornets were 2 of 13 from outside the arc.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 14 points and Frank Kaminsky added 12 for the Hornets, who won their second straight after a four-game losing streak. Lamb grabbed nine rebounds.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 19 points and eight rebounds. Mike Conley had 15 points before leaving in the third quarter with a lower back injury.
The Grizzlies have lost two of three.
The largest scoring discrepancy in the game was at the free throw line where the Hornets, who missed three of their first four, ended the game converting 23 of 31. Meanwhile, Memphis was 6 of 13, a difference that agitated the Grizzlies much of the night.
Charlotte, which already led by 19 points in the first half, extended the lead in the third as Memphis became unhinged complaining about calls and relying — mostly unsuccessfully — on 3-pointers to try to get back in the game.
Meanwhile, the Hornets steadily built the advantage with balanced scoring. Conley went to the locker room with an injury in the third quarter, leading…
